This Day In Wrestling History – July 2nd

2001– The long awaited “debut” of the new WCW on Raw from Tacoma, Washington was a flop. Given the final half hour of the 7/2 Raw, Buff Bagwell & Booker T had what many fans felt was the worst main event in the history of the program. Bagwell, who had his 1st match in months the day before on a house show, blew up quickly, & was using long restholds in a match that should have been non-stop action to put over the quality of the WCW performers. Booker T tried, but was still shaking off the ring rust himself, & was not in a position to carry Bagwell. The match was embarrassing, & chants of “Boring” & “This Match Sucks” were clearly heard throughout. A WWF source said Vince McMahon “absolutely hated” the whole WCW segment. That same night, Billy Kidman defeated Shane Helms for the WCW Cruiserweight Title. This was the 1st time a WCW title would change hands on a WWF show

2005 – WWE announcer Marc Lloyd, who hosted WWE Afterburn & ByteThis on WWE.com was released by the company

2006 – Beth Phoenix returned to the ring from her broken jaw, wrestling for WWE developmental OVW in Hodgenville, Kentucky

2008 – Ashley Massaro announced she had requested her release from WWE, citing that her then-seven year old daughter was ill & Massaro needed to be with her. Massaro has not worked in pro wrestling since being granted that release

2009 – WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper was arrested for DUI after being stopped for a field sobriety test

2012 – Armando Estrada, who had been quietly signed & then used only a few times by WWE, announces that he has been released by the company. The release came shortly after Estrada had asked a friend to bring up his name to WWE management. The creative team, as if turned out, had forgotten he was signed

Events

In 2012, WWE Monday Night Raw was held live at Laredo Energy Arena, in Laredo, Texas:

On this day in 1969, the wrestling world lost one-time NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Iron Mike DiBiase at the age of 45. DiBiase was an accomplished amateur wrestler, representing the US Navy & the University of Nebraska in UNL divisions. After turning professional in 1950, DiBiase began to win championships all over America, though primarily competed in the south. He was most successful in the AWA’s Midwest territory, & the NWA’s Amarillo territory, winning the main heavyweight title 3 times in each. He also held championships in Oregon, Chicago, Los Angeles as well as in the Central States & Tri-State territories. DiBiase actually died in the ring, suffering a fatal heart attack in a match with Man Mountain Mike. Harley Race, who was ringside, realized what was happening, & attempted CPR, but DiBiase was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Some may not know that he is not the biological father of ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase, rather, he married Ted’s mother & later adopted him